What Will This Year Be Like? I Wonder.
With just a few days left in this year, many people are being forced to look at the new year. And think about resolutions.
A blank page, so many possibilities.
But before we get to new resolutions, let’s make sure you end this year with a bang.
Should Auld Acquaintance Be Forgot, and Never Brought to Mind?
By now, you probably have an idea of my thoughts on memories. They are the BEST gift of all.
So stop, and look back on the last 360 or so days and what comes to mind? Probably a mishmash of broken resolutions, good times, and bum times.
Bad memories go into the trash can. Not the recycling bin, rehashing those is not going to bring a new outcome.
In the trash and never brought to mind, this is a good resolution you can start today.
Think of memories that make you smile. Replay them. Why are they happy? Is it where you are? Or who is there? How can you get similar results?
Get rid of the bad baggage. Hey, that might be a resolution.
Don’t Waste a Single Day
Remember about a year ago, that resolution when you said I am going to travel more this next year? How did that work out?
The bad news, if you are like more people, you traveled less than in years before.
The good news, it’s not too late. With what few hours you have left in this year, travel!
I’m not talking about around the world or even cross country.
I’m guessing there is something or somewhere within 20 miles of where you are right now that you have said: “I always wanted to see that/go there.”
That local museum, a park or garden, a unique bookstore, or maybe another neighborhood or borough you were going to explore. I will admit it, the whole time I lived in New York City, I never got to the base of the Statue of Liberty. I’m not proud of this.
Maybe it is something special for the holidays. Enjoying a tour of a historic house decorated for the holidays, a choir performance, or just driving around looking at Christmas lights.
Before the year is out, see something in your backyard. Fulfill that resolution.
This is the Dawning.
I will admit it; there are towns within 60 miles of where I grew up in Indiana that I have never seen. One has a glass company that has been making art glass since 1888. Even Louis Comfort Tiffany bought from them. Another one still has a section of the Wabash & Erie Canal. While another has a railroad museum and one probably holds a lot of information on my paternal grandfather who I never met. I suffer from “one of these days” procrastination as well.
I resolve to break myself of that a little more this year.
So write down on paper a place you want to go/see that is within 60 miles of where you are. Then see it between now and January third when most of us drop our new resolutions.
And try to see more of your state.
For Purple Mountains Majesty.
I know Americans who have been to 60+ countries around the world and not more than four or five states in the U.S.A. I have been to 48 of the 50 with New Mexico and Vermont still alluding me. That’s going to make for an exciting road trip.
Most of the states I saw from the back of my father’s car staying on “my side” of the backseat. Mom was navigator and motel research department along with her Triple-A guidebook. When I was a kid, we didn’t have cell phones and G.P.S.
To this day, I still love to jump in a car and travel. Sometimes with a planned itinerary, sometimes where ever the open highway takes me.
When was the last time you took a road trip? Not to the mall or grocery store but to somewhere new?
Resolve to see some of your countries secrets this next year. And then do it.
Or at least make a resolution to take a different route home from grandma’s house. Do you always have to go over the river and through the woods?
Those Far Away Places, With Strange Sounding Names.
“My dream is to someday go to _______.” Possibly because I am in the travel industry, I hear that expression a lot. And I almost always ask, “What are you doing to achieve that?” I either get the deer in the headlights stare, a giggle indicating I must be out of my mind, or a verbal response, “nothing.”
I want to give them a swift kick in the part of the body that aches after a long car or plane ride. Or possibly shake them until one small piece of logic falls into place, but they frown on these forms of communication nowadays. (When there seems to be a greater need for them.)
How much does it cost? I don’t know. How are you going to pay for it? I don’t know. Why do you want to go there? I don’t know. Calgon, take me away.
Why?
First, why do you want to go somewhere? “Because everyone else does” is not the right answer. Responses starting with, I want to see, learn, taste, touch, feel, find, or even smell means we have motivation. This is a great start.
How?
“I could never afford that.” Why? How much would it cost? “I don’t know.” Does anyone see a problem with this way of thinking?
Once, I had a co-worker who wanted to go to Italy. Why? She didn’t know. After numerous questions, it turns out her dream is to look at the Canal Grande in Venice from the top of the Rialto Bridge. A quick look at airfares in the off-season and I found a flight (yes, with connections) for $700.
A 3-star hotel (no elevator or workout room, but with included breakfast) was $80 a night including taxes. I pointed out the room was 50% off if she shared with a friend.
You can, (I know, and have done it) eat three meals a day in Venice for under $50. As I said, the hotel came with breakfast.
So for airfare, three nights hotel (well, if you’re going to go that far…) and meals it was going to cost her around $1000.
That was ten years ago. If this lady had set aside $100 a year ($2 a week) she could be waving at a gondolier right now. Last I heard, she is still sitting in the same cubicle dreaming of Italy.
She would complain about her large (Italian roast) designer coffees. (One in the morning, one in the afternoon costing $5 each.) And I heard (often) how she was paying over $100 a month for cable to watch the travel channel. I will pause and let that sink in.
I understand that some people deep down do not want to travel. Actually, I don’t understand it, but I know that’s what I’m supposed to say.
After All, Tomorrow is Another Day.
And Scarlett, how did that work out for you?
Professor Harold Hill warned us that: “You pile up enough tomorrows, and you’ll find you’re left with nothing but a lot of empty yesterdays.”
Yes, tomorrow is another day. But it’s not guaranteed.
A phrase that will make me cringe every time I hear it begins “Once I/we retire.”
According to the CDC, more than 110 million people die every year (worldwide) as a direct result of stress. The workplace/job is the number one cause of stress. More than 40% of U.S. workers complain about the level of stress at their workplace. That number is rising. I will guess there is a high correlation between this 40% and those who do not take a vacation.
I wish you a very long, prosperous retirement but don’t put all your eggs in one carry on. Retirement plans are a lot like resolutions, things we put off.
You need to live today as well. Make a resolution to do more than survive this next year.
Resolution Assignment.
Where do I want to go? _________ be specific. Europe is not a valid answer,
Why do I want to go there? _______ be specific. It’s pretty is not a valid answer.
If I went for two to three days, what is the least amount it will cost me in the off-season?
With knowledge is power, so make that resolution to be more powerful.
Once you have your starting budget, then the real fun begins. I can afford one more night. I found a deal on an upgrade at the hotel. Did you know they had a combo card or museum card? I can stop in this city on the way for no additional cost.
All of a sudden, you are a traveler.
If you toss out every other resolution this year, promise me you will keep one: “Collect more experiences and memories.”
And lose 10 pounds, airline seats keep getting smaller.
“Early Planning“ Continued on Page T8. “Planning 101” Continued on T14